Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to racks for the transport of thin wall parts in general, and more particularly to racks which have the capacity to be loaded and unloaded at the top and sides.
Many sheet metal stampings, plastic panels, and composite carbon fiber panels go into the construction of an automobile. In particular, exterior body panels are often formed of thin wall parts. The parts are fabricated, for example, in stamping mills, and are then transported to assembly lines where the panels are assembled and painted. Because many of these stamped parts are visible to the customer, it is imperative that they be free of scratches, dings, or distortions. At the same time, for efficient transport and assembly it is desirable that these parts be readily and conveniently accessible, while also being protected from contact with exterior objects or with other adjacent parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,092 discloses a rack having a steel frame open to the top and sides, and having a horizontal plywood board to which a series of parallel plastic leaves are connected by living hinges which are screwed in place. The plastic leaves are formed as single sheet thermoformed thermoplastic parts which have projecting edge portions which allow the edges of adjacent leaves to nest. This rack receives individual metal parts between pairs of plastic leaves. The rack is loaded with parts at the place of manufacture, then transported on a forklift vehicle, for loading and transport to eventually reach its final destination where the metal parts are removed. Although such a rack provides advantageous clearance for side loading, it provides certain deficiencies. Because the leaves are hinged directly to the plywood board, they have a tendency to return to an initial orientation, rather than remaining where positioned. In addition, the nesting edge portions can cause the adjacent leaves to lock together to prevent multiple leaves from being flipped at once between loading and transport positions. Moreover, as the plastic leaves must be replaced from time to time to reconfigure the rack for new parts, the removal and reattachment of the leaves to the plywood board is laborious and time-consuming, and costly in terms of additional fasteners required.
What is needed is a side or top loading part rack which is rapidly assembled, easily operated, easily maintained and which avoids locking or interference of adjacent leaves when being turned in groups.
A rack for the transport of thin wall parts such as automotive body panel stampings has a steel frame with two parallel channels positioned on either side of a planar floor member. Each channel has a series of parallel slots which receive tabs extending downwardly from parallel plastic leaves. The leaves are restricted from removal from the rack by rods which extend through the frame beneath the channels and through rod openings in the tabs. The plastic leaves are of two types having side structures which do not nest. Because the leaves are not hinged to the floor member, they will stay in either position due to gravity. The non-nesting leaf side structures permit a plurality of leaves to be flipped from one position to the other simultaneously.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rack for metal stampings having a plurality of plastic leaves which are readily removed and replaced.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rack for metal stampings in which multiple plastic leaves may be pivoted simultaneously without interference between each other.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a rack for metal stampings in which individual plastic leaves remain where positioned and do not have a tendency to return to an initial position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rack which eliminates any hinged connection between the plastic leaves and the rack.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.